You do not need a “special” diet or a “gym.” You need to eliminate all junk food, like chips and soda. You should find exercise that fits into your daily routine, like walking to school, bicycling to the grocery store, and hiking through a local park. Try to perform these moderate exercise activities for at least an hour every day. Eat more fruits and vegetables, since these are both filling and filled with the nutrients that your body needs.

Let me give you a summary of my meals in a typical day:

Breakfast: A high-fiber cup of oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. A pint of coffee or green tea.

Alternatively, a high-protein scrambled egg with an Anaheim or Pasadilla pepper, a handful of mushrooms, and half-cup of cheese, with a topping of Greek or Italian spices. Two bananas.

Lunch: Snacking and a meal at work is one orange and two apples; ten-grain, flax-meal, psillium home-made crackers with a half-cup of spreadable soft feta; a half-cup of cinnamon-sugar almonds; a pint of coffee; a quart of water.

Alternatively, a soup of clam chowder with a half-cup of added mixed seafood such as clams and octopus or split pea soup; dried figs and apricots to satisfy hunger between meals; a half-cup of cayenne-coated sunflower seeds; a quart of water.

Dinner: A half-head of lettuce with thousand island or blue cheese dressing. Two bananas with a glass of milk. Two cups of herbal tea.

Alternatively, a high-fiber, multi-grain and flax meal pasta with red sauce, adding mushrooms, peppers, bok choi, and a few black olives. Another meal is stir-fry vegetables in a ginger terriyaki or vegetable spring rolls with duck sauce. A cup of brown rice or wild rice, not a true rice, as a high-fiber side dish is very filling with green tea or herbal tea.

My daily exercise routine is 16 miles of biking, unless the weather is nasty. If the weather is bad, I run 4 miles a day with a backpack. On my days off work, I usually hike about 5 miles in winter due to snow on my paths and 10 miles in summer. Try to do at least an hour of moderate exercise per day, which can be a commute to pick-up groceries, get to work or school, or a hike in a park or neighborhood.

Check a BMI calculator to set your weight goal.

BMI of 25 to 30 is not associated with excessive mortality. BMI of 30 to 35 is associated with 30,000 excessive deaths in the United States. BMI of greater than 35 is related to 80,000 deaths per year in the United States. In a study of 900,000 adults, every 5 BMI greater than 25 causes a 30% higher death rate. Obesity over 30 BMI increases medical spending by 10% on average. Obesity costs a person shortens a life by about 3 years.